Standard Break From Life: Career
by Stoic Harlequin
Summary: Only a man..er..well, a turtle like Michaelangelo could spot the bright day in a dreary night, the beauty in an ugly face, and the excitement in a mundane chore. Where disappointment comes in reality for most, that same turtle finds only inspiration.


**Standard Break From Life: Career**

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><p>With Leonardo gone, training for something - it could have been a marathon for all Michelangelo cared right then - he was given more freedom than he'd had in a long while. Not because it was really a choice, but because with a piece missing, they were broken. It was like a jig-saw puzzle and Leo was the very center, leaving them with nothing but a few corner pieces and one that was wet and soggy, forgotten about because it lost its shape. Mikey figured that piece was Raph, he was bitter and mopey enough to be considered the shapeless one. If prompted, he could easily quote Master Splinter, word-for-word, about Leonardo's mission in Central America; how it was important to their success as he must learn to be a better leader in order to do just that, lead them. Yet when he was left to his own devices, which Mikey often was should he choose to be, he forgot that the most responsible of them would be scolding him for his haphazard neglect of their mission in life. Which, at the end of the day, was to create synergy between one's body and mind to harness it for the purpose of the masses. Michelangelo, however, was not as nearly as gung-ho and focused for the ultimate global, life philosophy his brothers might adopt. He was a here-and-now sort; a <em>here <em>- on the rooftop and _now _- watching the busty blonde exit the same privately owned grocer that she did every Tuesday at this hour.

Half the time, he wished she'd get mugged just so he could be valiant and save her from the dubious - if not entirely villainous - criminals who, in his very over active imagination, meant no good. But she, the same woman he followed across the roof tops to her average apartment building in the heart of the city, seemed well aware that dark allies and sketchy side paths were not the way to go. It didn't keep Mikey from dreaming about the one time she did and how, for his ultimate achievement of 'Princess Rescued' would earn him a kiss instead of those useless gold coins. He was pretty sure her name was Cassie or Lassie...no, no that was a dog with an affinity for wells, but also one of his favorite pass times to watch as she was just too darn cute with her golden tail (besides, nothing of value was on after midnight anyhow _but _Lassie). He really couldn't be sure what her name was. But it didn't really matter: she was still his fantasy in her very normal, everyday behaviors.

It was striking to him, if not entirely enviable, that she could just waltz into a drug store and buy whatever she liked, whenever she liked. She could smile at people as she walked by; in fact, he could see her pearly whites from all the way above. She was perfect for just that; the outside world was her playground and Mikey wanted nothing more than to stand next to her and smile too, to feel as free as she took for granted.

There were other times he would dream that they were married and had a white picket fence, with a matchbox house and even a dog - that was the one named Lassie, he figured. Where he had a 9-5 job he hated to love; or maybe it was love to hate, he often mixed those two up. Their life was somewhat of a sitcom, straight from the set of _Leave It to Beaver_, but that didn't matter either as to Mikey, that was _exactly_what it must be to live like a human, topside.

Sometimes, Mikey convinced himself he could just do it...he could live topside, with a house and a family and everything and it would be no big deal. He saw enough television and movies to fantasize. But part of him, the overly optimistic part, could never let reality sink in. He didn't want to believe that he couldn't have those things because of what he was; he had too much faith in people, faith in their acceptance of what he was, to let a 'petty' obstacle keep him from love and happiness. He craved loved, and romantic love interested him more than anything as it was the one feeling he had never felt before. And Mikey, when curious enough, was indestructible.

He realized she was crossing the street, and with her went his fantasy. "No." He whined to no one as he could see no easy way to cross the street at this hour, as the sun was sharply overhead beating down on the buildings hotly. He leaned over the edge, perhaps a little too far, as she dipped into another building. He sighed unhappily, wishing with all his might that he could follow her inside. So...maybe this was the first time he'd seen her at all and he had made up that she left that grocer every Tuesday. This was in fact the first Tuesday he had seen her and could easily deduce that each and every Tuesday was the same. The fact remained that she was a beautiful blonde in which he could easily replace with the last one he'd stalked along the roof top, or the one before that, or even the brunette before her. This one, however, she was _special_; he knew this because she was there, _now_ in the _here_ and not lost in the _there_, last week - like the others.

She came out soon after with a little boy. He had a mop of blonde curls as he held her free hand, a brown bag with the groceries clutched in the other. He was bouncing in his spot, clearly yapping at his mother about something Mikey couldn't hear from his height. Mikey's neck straightened out and he stared, openly. A kid...she had a kid whose energy seemed to rival Mikey's own. Nothing stunned him more; it was as if it was his first time encountering the very concept of kids, as if he spent his whole life thinking adults just came out that way. The very suggestion sparked a whole new bout of ideas in his head, swirling and bouncing off each other as they settled in the confines of his skull and giving him reason to consider how he could act on them. Most of all, his energy spiked too - merely absorbed from the young child's - as he couldn't contain himself any longer. His hand immediately went to the phone that Donnie had issued to him with the explicit instructions of _"Do. Not. Lose. This." _Mikey had no intention of doing so - he intended, instead, to use it.

"Don! Don! DONNIE! I have a great idea! It came to me, in a dream! Only I wasn't even sleeping, I was awake the whole time which is even better! A day care! Kids would totally love me." Mikey cheered into the receiver as if his brother might not be able to hear him had he toned his voice down an octave or two. He could almost hear Donnie, over the excitement pulsating through his ears, cringe at his volume. The fact that he didn't have the most altruistic motives in mind was hardly the point as his spirit and heart were in the right place - right next to his testosterone.

"Right Mikey." Don's voice came back. It was the same dead pan that Michelangelo often got when he was running wild with some tangent that was completely impossible. It almost sounded bored, as if Donnie expected this call and had already rehearsed his lines and was ready to get it over with. "You know, because sewers are ideal for developing little bodies. And parents love to drop their kids off in dark allies - it would be even better to hand them off to three fingered green hands through a hole in the ground. They'll pay big bucks for it. You'd be better off starting your own party business at that rate. At least everyone loves a guy in a turtle suit. Less screams of fear and more screams of ice-cream and cake hyped kids."

The silence on the other end of the phone clearly frightened Don as he knew, by that lack of noise, meant Michelangelo was thinking. This was always a dangerous prospect, at least with Mikey, when it had to do with something that could be feasible. Something that, now that Don considered it, might actually be possible. If Don said it was possible, then surely Mikey would believe it and expect it to be done and done with ease. "Mikey...Mike...say something, anything. I was just kidding, you know? You can't have a kids' party service, that's crazy. Mikey...Mike, I was just joking..." Don too fell into silence for a moment. It ebbed onward, nothing but stillness surrounding them both as Don stared forward, expecting something - anything - from his brother. But when nothing came, he grew more and more scared with each second. Panic filled him. "Oh...God...what have I done..."

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><p><em>Author's Note ::<em> They might be turtles and they may be mutants, lest we not forget they are teenage boys too. This piece was conceived both from how Mike got into the party business as well as a song by Alkaline Trio called Love Love, Kiss Kiss (please consider this the disclaimer). This is based on the 2007 CGI movie. It is the first of a series of one-shots which will be visiting several 'hows' of TMNT. 'Standard Break From Life' is also a borrowed lyric.


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